The girl on the train
by 0.witnesses
Summary: Maybe to her, he's just a stranger on the train, but for him, she's a lot more.
1. Lost and found

Day 1

It was his first week back in New York after his two years teaching English to kids in South America, he was finally back home. He had gotten a job as the HR for the newest headquarters in the city for an organization he discovered during his travels. It paid enough to keep the lights on and the water running, life here was expensive. Two years ago he had sold his car to pay for a ticket out of New York, now he relayed too much on the subway system to move around, especially when his office was 5 stops, one line change and three other stops away from his apartment.

It wasn't all bad, you never know what you might find down here. A person dressed as a cow, a man wearing nothing but a Speedo on February, some guys playing jazz, a street dancer, ten bucks on the floor, a guy screaming for salvation, a rat, a beautiful blonde...

A beautiful blonde.

His eyes followed the girl who had just walked in, pulling him out of his thoughts. She was wearing a black jean skirt, with some dark red army boots and a cute top. Attached to her hip was an old Discman, he hadn't seen one in years. She sat in front of him, focused on her music. He knew that he was staring, but if she wasn't the prettiest woman he had seen in his life, he'd be damned. Her golden mane fell straight to her sides and even under the unflattering flickering fluorescent lights of the train, her eyes stole whatever brightness the cart had.

He forced himself to look away to avoid becoming the creep on the subway, but he still sneaked in a look or two. The third time he cocked his head on her direction, she was watching him.

One of her eyebrows went up, she had clearly noticed him staring before. He smiled and tapped at his belt, she looked at her CD player and nodded with a smile on her face. This was what subway interactions looked like, a brief courteous encounter between two strangers that will never speak to each other, busy enough with their own thing. He returned to his social feed until the girl stood up and walked to the door, preparing for her exit.

He looked at her legs, traveling slowly to the trim of her skirt and all the way to her ass, when the train began to break he wanted to look at her face one more time, only to find her eyes were waiting for him, a smirk on her face. His cheeks felt like they were on fire, she winked at him and melted into the entering crowd.

Is there a more hurtful heartbreak than seeing someone so beautiful just once, knowing that there is no chance in hell that he'll see her again.

The girl with the long legs.

Day 7

He was in the middle of the train, tired of being in his ass all day. He caught a glimpse of a blonde mane in the platform, maybe it was her, maybe she was in another cart. Hope is not lost.

The girl with the blonde hair.

Day 11

He found her again after a couple of days of trying to enter different carts, she was hiding in the back of the train. She sat a couple of benches away. His heart stopped when she connected her eyes to his, she tried to hide a smile by pulling her hair behind her ear, but he managed to sneak in a look.

Before he could stop himself he was walking towards her, he couldn't miss his opportunity this time. A name, at least.

His courage drained from his feet when he noticed something in her hand, he got down of the train five stops before his, to avoid the embarrassment that awaited him.

The girl with the engagement ring.

Day 12

Of course, she had a fiancee, girls like her are always taken, the window of opportunity with girls like that was very limited and he had missed it, now that window was closed and not only that, it had a lock too.

She was officially out of his reach, but still, he entered the last wagon, hoping for a glance.

This time she paid no attention to him, she was heavily working on what it seemed to be a drawing, her fingers were black from the graphite. She was biting her bottom lip, unconcerned by her immediate surroundings.

The girl who can draw.

Day 21

It was a hot summer day, and it seemed like every person in New York had decided to take the subway at the same time. To pile up, the train was late, it shouldn't shock him that the metro system in the city was trash, but he was tired and sticky and desired nothing but a cold shower.

He saw her a few people further down, her hair was up in a messy bun, the shorts and the boots were back. She was moving her hand back and forth fanning her face. She saw him staring and smiled knowingly.

He wondered if she thought of him as a commuter or maybe she thought of him as the creepy guy from the metro. She always smiled at him, it wasn't a trick from his imagination, at least she didn't hate him.

He would even go as far as to consider her like a friend, her subway buddy, even though he didn't know her name or they had never spoken to each other, he felt like he knew little bits of information.

When the train finally arrived it was a pushing war if you didn't want to wait for the next train to arrive. Somehow he was pushed next to the blonde girl, he towered over her.

Her smell hit him immediately, a delightful mix of cherry blossom and a faint hint of sweat, her essence was a beautiful gift among the heavy smell that settled in the city (especially in small spaces) on summer time.

With the train moving he tried his best to keep his distance, he didn't want to be one of those guys who pushes hip first against everybody. Although when the breaks screeched and they all thought they were going down, he instinctively placed his hand over her hip to keep her from falling.

His first reaction was to take the hand away, she turned to look at him and he couldn't help but wonder if her cheeks were red because of the heat or for his unexpected touch.

The girl with the incredible smell.

Day 39

He brought a book today, a coworker had recommended Life is a Dream to him and he decided to pick it up. The blonde girl lifted her eyebrows when she saw him, she sat right in front of him and stared at him for most of the trip.

It was a good thing he could hide his blushing face behind the book.

The girl with the crystal clear eyes.

Day 41

Lucas was a little disappointed that he hadn't seen her that day. Was it too crazy to consider that they understood each other through looks?

The day he was wearing different shoes she pointed it out with her eyes and she had snorted. Also, on May 4th, he pointed at his Star Wars shirt and she had rolled her eyes. They had a non-spoken language.

When he got up to leave, he noticed that the blonde girl was on the cart next to his, she was sitting, talking to a pretty brunette. As he left the train, he saw her tapping her friend and pointing at him, they giggled as the subway disappeared from the station.

The girl with the pretty friend.

Day 47

Everything had gone wrong for him that day, he had stepped on dog shit trying to take a shortcut through the park, his pen had spilled inside of his briefcase and all over his case files and when he tried to print them again the printer got jammed. The milk he added to the coffee had gone bad and he almost threw up in the office kitchen. He stapled his finger by mistake and to top it all off he had forgotten his umbrella the day a storm hit.

He was dripping when he entered the train, he was not in the mood, the ink that he had spilled earlier had washed down to his grey blazer and the button shirt he was wearing. He was so mad that he took them off at the bathroom before the train arrived, left in his soaked undershirt he was brooding in his seat.

He could feel small droplets of water falling from his hair to his lap. The blonde girl took her usual spot near him, their eyes connected and she pointed to the umbrella she had on her hands, he couldn't do anything but shrug, knowing that it was his own fault for not having an umbrella with him, she gave him a pitiful look and put her headphones on.

Tired after the long day, he stretched his arms and pulled them behind his head for support as he rested his eyes for a while. She bit her lip as she stared at his arms, not really trying to hide it, he smiled knowingly, thinking how maybe his day hadn't been so bad after all.

The girl who is always prepared.

Day 53

She brought her Discman again, the train was pretty empty when he got in, the blonde girl was laying down, taking a whole bench. Her eyes were closed, as she hummed to a song. Lucas closed his own eyes, enjoying the sound that filled the cart. When she began singing, he couldn't stop the smile of surprise in his face.

The girl with an incredible voice.

Day 59

Was it so bad to feel so connected with a stranger? Or maybe he just felt guilty over the fact that she was engaged. But why would he feel guilty if they had never spoken a word, just a few glances exchanged, some laughs shared. Like the time there was a man trying to rap the Bible, quite unsuccessfully.

Maybe they had found in the train something he had forgotten he needed. In a big city like New York, he was surrounded by people for the most part of his days, but he had never felt so alone until he moved here. Everyone in the city is either searching for meaning in their lives, working towards their goals or trapped in a routine that they once feared. No one has time to care for others while they are trying to work on themselves and it can be a lonely, crowded town.

What Lucas found was maybe another lost soul that was craving the same company he needed. They didn't have to talk or be friends, they could be strangers riding the subway together. He just knew that he didn't feel alone anymore.

The girl with sad eyes.

Day 74

When she entered the car that morning she looked disheveled. Her shirt was only half tucked in, her hair seemed nesty, she was trying to put all the items in her bag. Now that he thought about it, she appeared to be in a rush.

She sat on the opposite side of the car, he frowned. Maybe she didn't want to interact today, we all have bad days and this definitely seemed to be going sideways for her.

He stared at her, not caring by this point if she noticed. He changed his seat to be a little closer making sure he wasn't too obvious in his intentions. She was cleaning her nose with the edge of her sleeve. Was she crying? Lucas felt overwhelmed with concern, he couldn't just sit there. He had already seen people cry in the subway, but they were random people, she wasn't. She was the girl on the subway, they were kind of like friends, they just didn't know each other completely.

His other part was trying to remind him that they were, in fact, strangers and that he had no business meddling in her life. It wasn't until she pulled her hair up in a bun that he saw the clear bruises on her forearm. He threw every argument he had made up out of his head and he stood up.

"Hey," he called out. She looked at him like she couldn't believe that sound had come out of his mouth. He could now see the eyeshadow smudged around her eyes and just above her left eye another bruise. "Are you okay?" He asked. She didn't reply, she just looked more nervous. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I just fell, thank you." She tried her best to put a smile on, but he just knew she was lying.

Her uneasiness grew, she stood up with her bag over her shoulder. That's when Lucas noticed something else, something that was enough for him to be more than suspicious that she needed help.

She wasn't wearing her engagement ring anymore.

The train stopped and before the doors were completely open she was out of there. He followed her, something in his gut telling him that he had to help her somehow.

"Stop!" He yelled, she looked behind her surprised to find him there. Yet he kept going, he thought he wouldn't be able to catch her until she bumped into someone and dropped her bag, her things spreading in the floor like water. "Wait!" He said, almost reaching her.

"Just leave me alone!" She told him before grabbing her wallet and leaving everything behind.

He had a chance of catching up with her and leaving the bag on the floor or taking the bag and find another way of tracking her.

Lucas went for the bag.


	2. A woman's purse

**Sorry for taking so long, this is a small filler chapter. I think this story will be done in 5 chapters or less and they will come out eventually but I don't know when. Don't think I've forgotten**

* * *

He sat on the couch of his poorly decorated apartment, looking at the items he had spread on his coffee table. It was a noisy afternoon, his fridge had begun making weird noises again, by the sound coming from his wall it seemed like his neighbors had gotten back together, from the ambulances that had passed there must have been an accident uptown. Every 30 minutes the train shook his floor, but he wasn't paying attention to any of that, he couldn't even be bothered to stand and close the window.

He stared at the strawberry lip balm that he had meticulously taken out of the purse and placed on the table, he looked at it hopelessly, like he was waiting for the items to yell at him where they had come from and where he could find her, waiting for a clue to slap him in the face.

He was so gone on his thoughts that he almost ignored the knocks on his door. Lucas almost jumped out of his couch when he finally noticed the loud thuds. He knew who was responsible for startling him, he hadn't realized how hungry he was until heis hand was on the handle of his front door, he had lost track of time. If his best friend was knocking at his door it meant that it was 6 in the afternoon, he had sat silently looking at the purse for almost three hours.

"Zay!" He exclaimed as he let his friend in. He seemed upset, Lucas showed him an apologetic smile knowing full well that he probably stood outside his apartment for a few minutes before he welcomed his guest.

"Do you have any idea how long I stood there like an idiot?" Zay asked, aware that there would be no answer. He removed the belt that held his holster and gun and layed it over the counter on what Lucas called his kitchen.

"Have I told you how much I like a man in uniform?" Lucas grinned at the smile Zay was trying to hide.

Lucas couldn't deny that the NYPD blue uniform really suited his best friend, it filled him with pride seeing him wear it, knowing that he wanted nothing more that to change the system from within.

"Shut up." Zay told him, stealing a beer from his fridge. "Your charming compliments won't work on me." It seemed in that moment that he had noticed the assortment of objects that sat on his coffee table. "Dude, what happened here?" He stepped closer, admiring the neatly arrangement. "Lucas... What did you do?" He turned to see his friend scratching the back of his neck trying to find some words that just didn't know how to come out. Zay was starting to have a bad feeling about the whole situation, his eyes picked up the obvious woman's purse that sat on the couch. "Lucas..."

"I didn't do anything bad, I swear." Lucas assured him.

"Just tell me what happened." He sighed, sitting on the couch making sure he was as far as possible from the mysterious bag.

"Okay, do you remember the blonde girl from the train?" He started, Zay's eyes opened up. Lucas had told him since the first day about his encounters with the girl, he maybe kept some of the interactions to himself not wanting to share her with anyone. "Well, that's her purse."

Zay stood up immediately, suddenly feeling like an accomplice of whatever crime had happened here.

"No, it's not like that, sit down and let me finish." Lucas tried to sound the least guilty but his voice pitched in a way that would make any person look desperate.

Zay listened to his demand, not without showing his disappointment by pursing his lips first. Lucas began telling him the events that had transpired the day before, telling him about all the signs of abuse she was showing. He had first hand experience with cases of abuse, Lucas had seen them sitting in front of his desk while he tried his best to explain them what their next steps would be, asking if they kept a journal of the assaults or evidence of the bruises. His friend had calmed down, elbows over his knees and thumbs pressed under his chin, like he had done whenever he was thinking about something since they were kids.

"So you went for the purse." Zay confirmed. "Why didn't you just ran after her, you could've easily caught up to her."

"I know, but I... I don't know." Lucas hesitated, he couldn't explain how he felt. "Something just told me that I should take the bag."

"Not only did you steal her purse, which is a _crime_!" He stood up, pacing around the room. "You looked at everything she had inside." Zay began with the tone he used when Lucas did something wrong or stupid. "Don't you know that you should never look inside a woman's purse, that shit is like part of their soul... It's too personal and I don't like this."

"And no only that..." Zay continued, his accusatory finger pointing at Lucas. "You go and call your friend who is a _cop_?! I could have you arrested, you are aware of that, right?"

"Zay..." Lucas rolled his eyes, ever since he had been given that badge he had pulled the cop card for every dumb decision his friends made.

"You've officially lost it! That's it! That's the only explanation for this." He extended his arms encapsulating the mess on the coffee table.

Zay opened his mouth as if to say something else, but he quickly shut it. He sat on the couch and sighed, rubbing his temples. Lucas watched his silently as his friend finished his can and began unbuttoning his uniform to display the white undershirt he had on.

"Alright..." Zay looked back at Lucas. "Where do you want to start?" Lucas smiled and his face said everything, he could see how important this was, he also knew that there was nothing on this world that could stop him from protecting the people he cared about and this wasn't just any blonde for Lucas.

It had been years since they had stopped keeping track of who owed who a favor. Zay knew that if they did he wouldn't live long enough to finish paying Lucas for all of the things he had done for him.


	3. New York, New York

**New York, New York**

A thought of those ridiculous handmade signs of _"Don't text and walk!"_ carelessly glued on the aisles of his high school popped into his head as people bumped each other on the street, more interested on what their screens were displaying than apologizing to their equally distracted victims.

He held a crumbled piece of paper on his fist with a detailed list of his destinations. The handwriting was Zay's who had stayed late the night before investigating the items in the blonde girl's purse. Lucas had hoped that they could just use whatever DNA or fingerprint was left in the chewed up pencil or the lipgloss to find out who she was and where she lived, but his plan was destroyed when Zay told him that he couldn't perform a DNA test without the Captain's approval and he would need evidence for that, because as of now it just looked like Lucas had stolen that purse. So between the two, they had crafted a list of places that may offer some information on who the girl was and what happened to her.

Lucas pulled the handles of the purse closer to his neck as he checked the traffic to cross the street. It was a good thing that he lived in New York in a very progressive time, there would've been thrice as many stares to a man holding a purse around his shoulder even a decade earlier.

As he approached the place his heart sank at the sight of a woman handing out coupons on the street to anyone that passed by. He looked around in the bag and saw the same piece of paper, 15% off your first class if you present this coupon, Lucas quickly put it away and started walking again determined on not letting this first failure discourage him, he knew that this was the less probable clue. He passed the yoga studio and headed on the next stop.

He was thinking of this list as the savior of the situation, but it was nothing but a paper with three addresses. Only three clues. From all the things in the bag, they had discarded most of the items except for the coupon which honestly was there just because they couldn't loose anything by checking the place out. Who knew that girls carry around so much trash in their purses, certainly not Zay or Lucas. Excepting the DNA on them, the pencil and the lipgloss were useless, just like the granola bar and the miniature hand sanitizer. Inside was a receipt for a double espresso and a bagel, a pair of broken headphones, a key with a little lightning drawn over it. Lucas' face lit up when he found the key as if he had a treasure chest in front of him, but the reality was that it was completely useless unless he knew which door it was supposed to open. She also kept a lighter, sunscreen and some crumbs at the bottom of the purse. But most importantly the next two items had landed them two more locations, the first was an old edition of "Five weeks in a balloon" by Jules Verne which had a stamp of a vintage book store in the city; the other was the most promising clue, it was an address itself written in a piece of paper that was kept between the pages of the book.

Lucas was a little sceptical about the last place because who would keep their own address written on a piece of paper, he had also noticed that she had a pretty bad handwriting which made him smile, it made total sense when he saw it, like he just knew she had written the note herself.

He could see the bookstore immediately after he turned around the corner, they had a few displays with books outside of the store being watched by one of the clerks. Lucas approached him, as he took the book out of the purse.

"Excuse me, hi!" He said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Sure, what do you need?" The man replied with a smile.

"I have this book that someone left on the subway and I wanted to return it, it had your stamp on the inside. Well, the store's stamp." He clarified, showing him the sticker.

"Yes, that's ours." He took a good look at Lucas and sighed. "Come inside, we'll check the system."

Lucas's face lit up with hope as he followed Andrew (or at least that's what the tag said). He placed the books he was holding before over the counter and asked for the girl's book, as he typed the number he looked at Lucas with a knowing smile.

"So... who's the girl?" He asked him.

"How did you know?" Lucas asked back, very surprised.

"Well, people in this city don't go to all this trouble to return a book unless it's for sex." He answered, closing the book and pressing enter.

"Uh..." He didn't know what to say. "I don't... know her, well... not really." He scratched the back of his head, the clerk laughed.

"It's okay man, you're doing a good thing. But I'm afraid I can't help you, she must've paid in cash." Lucas took the book back and put it away on the purse very disappointed, he had actually thought that there was a shot here. "I'm sorry, I hope you find her."

"Yeah, me too." He gave him a half smile. "Thanks for the help."

"Sure, no problem. Good luck!"

With that he exited the store to visit one last place. He couldn't describe how sad he felt, like he had disappointed her because he couldn't find her. Zay was right, he could've run after her, he could've easily caught up to her if he hadn't been so stupid. He let out a big sigh just as his phone started to ring, it was Zay.

"Hey man! How's it going? Have you found anything?" Zay bombarded him with a lot of questions. "At what place are you?"

"Relax dude, I haven't found anything useful. I just walked out of the second place, I was on my way to the last address."

"That sucks, but we knew they were all very long shots." His friend said.

"Yeah, I know, I just... hoped. I don't know–" Lucas stopped at the subway entrance. "– that there be something."

"Hey, c'mon, you still have one more place on the list. Who knows, right?" Zay tried to comfort him. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'm good. I'll still see you for lunch." He answered.

"Alright, call me if the place seems sketchy." The call ended as the train arrived, Lucas ran down to catch it, barely getting in before the doors closed.

He wasn't ready to give up if the clue didn't pan out. As he sat in his usual spot, he couldn't stop thinking about this girl, he knew he liked her, which was insane, he didn't know her. He just couldn't let go of the feeling that she was in trouble, there was something so terrifying in her eyes when she ran away, he had to find her.

When he arrived at the building it seemed like a normal apartment complex which made him smile. He buzzed the number 4B and waited.

"Hello?" A woman suddenly asked.

His heart stopped

"Are you here for the visit?" She said he didn't think it was her voice behind the speaker. "Hello?"

"Hi, sorry! Yes, yes I'm here for the visit." He quickly answered, the door was unlocked and he went inside.

"Hi, please come in. I'm Vicky Stanton." Said the middle aged woman who opened the door. "There are some pamphlets in that table and cookies in the kitchen. If you have any questions please let me know." The woman ushered him inside and placed a pamphlet on his hands before she returned to a couple that was standing by a window.

He walked around the empty apartment, checked every room for any signs that his mystery girl used to live here, but there was none. Whoever lived here had moved out completely and left but a few hangers in the closet.

"How do you like the view?" Vicky entered the room, it seemed like her other clients had left them alone. "If you don't like sunsets, 5A is also available so you can catch the sunrise instead."

"Do you know anything about the previous owner?" He asked.

"Of course, the couple that used to live here had the apartment for a few years, they just moved out to Jersey."

Could she be talking about her and her fiance, she didn't seem like the Jersey type.

"Do you know why they left?" He wondered.

"I think they moved in with one of their kids, I'm guessing to take care of them, I couldn't tell you exactly." She smiled. "Do you have any more questions?"

Thank God, he thought.

"Yes, actually. I'm looking for one of your clients, she is small, around my age, blonde hair, blue eyes. I think she may have called you about this place." Lucas asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot reveal any information about my other clients to you." Her expression changed from friendly to preoccupied.

"Please, I think she might be in danger." He begged her, she looked at him and sighed.

"I can't help you, if her life is at stake then I suggest you go to the police." Vicky stated, obviously suspicious about Lucas' behavior.

It is quite difficult to get help from the cops when you don't even know the name of the person you lost. Besides, he had already involved the police when he called Zay.

He was done. No more clues, no more addresses. They had ran out of items that could help. He didn't want to give up on her, but he was feeling very hopeless at the moment. He thanked Vicky for her time and exited the building holding the purse in one hand. He couldn't explain the pain he felt, he had failed her. He called Zay and then ordered an Uber to the place where they were having lunch, he didn't feel like walking. They sat by the window with their $1 pizza as he told his best friend everything that happened that morning.

"I'm sorry man." Zay told him. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know–" He replied, playing with the olives he had left on his dish. "– I guess I'll keep sitting in the same spot in case she comes back."

"You did what you could. And I know that you're thinking that you could've done more." He added as Lucas was opening his mouth to speak, he closed it immediately. "But please try not to torture yourself about it."

He nodded.

They grabbed some ice cream sandwiches on their walk back to Zay's car, he had bought an extra one for his partner Claire who was waiting for him on a bench next to the patrol.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you were having lunch with your boyfriend." She quipped, Zay faked a laugh as he tossed her the ice cream.

"Hey Claire."

"Hi Lucas, it's good to see you." She said. "I love your purse."

Lucas smiled at the comment knowing that she wanted an explanation, but he didn't quite know how to tell her the story of how he had practically stolen a purse.

"Thanks, just got it." He simply told her.

"It's very fancy, not what I would expect from a guy like you." Zay laughed too at her remark. "Is it real?"

They both lifted their eyes to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"I was just wondering if it's a fake or not, the real ones are very expensive." She explained. Zay and Lucas looked at each other and back to Claire.

"Could you tell if it's real?" Zay asked, taking the purse from Lucas and giving it to his partner.

"Uh... I mean, I'm no expert." She started.

"But?.." They both said.

She grabbed the bag and inspected both sides.

"Well, these are usually made from one single leather strip. So you can see how the logo is upright in one side and upside down on the other. Like this one." She showed them the purse, she was right. "I'm guessing this is real."

They both screamed in excitement and hugged each other as they celebrated, Claire was startled by the sudden burst of joy.

"There must be a store on 5th." Lucas said, his hands on Zay's shoulders.

"You have to go." He replied.

"I have to go." He nodded, he took the purse from Claire's hands and ran away from them.

"What the fuck just happened?" She asked him with a concerned face.

"I'll tell you later." Zay told her, a smile still on his face.

A new hope washed over Lucas as he made his way to the store. How could they have missed the biggest clue, they had emptied the contents of the purse and put it aside, as it was only the vessel in which she carried her stuff, at least that's how they saw it.

"Excuse me, miss?" He asked the first worker he saw.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?"

Lucas had already thought of a story to explain how he had definitely not stolen a bag that costs thousands of dollars. He told her that a costumer had left the bag at his restaurant but he had no way of contacting her, so this was kind of his last resort. She looked a little suspicious when his "costumer" hadn't left her wallet inside the purse with the rest of her belongings. He had only counted with a limited time to think of the story, it couldn't have been perfect. And hesitantly, the worker explained how they actually had no way of tracing down the buyer.

"Didn't you find anything among her stuff?" She asked, taking a look inside the bag.

"No." He replied sadly.

"What about the tag pocket?" He lifted his eyes to her, she could tell that he had no idea what she was talking about. "These big purses have a small pocket, a little hidden pouch, to keep a tag just in case something like this happens."

She turned the flashlight from her phone on and showed Lucas a small zipper on the wall of the bag. He was shocked. When he had gotten home that afternoon he emptied the items on his couch, checked that there was nothing else left in there and tossed the purse aside. It had never occurred to him that the bag itself could contain so much information.

He opened the pouch and found a presentation card inside, it was for an art gallery in the city. He had a new clue, he thanked the clerk for her help and stepped out. He had a feeling that he was finally going somewhere.

"She has this big blonde hair, very beautiful, she also has the bluest eyes. She might look very small but she is very dangerous, I've heard her mad on the phone and you wouldn't want to be on the other side of that call." Lucas laughed to himself. "She spends a lot of time surrounded by art, you know, reading, listening to music, drawing. She can sing too."

This time, when Lucas described the girl to the man behind the front desk at the gallery, he didn't look absolutely lost. Instead, he smiled and nodded and Lucas' heart skipped a beat.

"I know exactly who you're talking about." He said.

"You do?" It didn't feel real, to finally find out who was the girl he had been chasing. Of all the things he had done this felt like the biggest invasion of privacy, learning her name from a stranger and not from her.

"She is an artist, we display her pieces here. Are you interested in her work?" He asked, taking a post it and writing something in it.

"Yes, I have something that belongs to her and I just want to return it." He answered.

"Well, her name is Maya Hart." The man placed the note on the counter in front of Lucas. "I don't know her living address, but her art studio is in this building, third floor I believe, you can try your luck there."

Lucas couldn't thank the worker enough for his help. He texted Zay that he might have a lead and that he would call him after he checked it out.

Maya Hart. Beautiful.

His hopes were up. The position of the building revealed that this was the place she was returning from every day, giving the station she got on. Even if she wasn't at the studio, he now had her name and he could ask Zay to run her name and pull up her file. Lucas wasn't asking for a reunion or anything like that, he just wanted to return her stuff and make sure she was okay, that was all that mattered to him. He didn't need to see her on the subway anymore as long as he knew that she would be okay.

He didn't have the number of the apartment, but turned out he wouldn't need it. The door he was standing in front of had sparks coming out of the handle, he knew exactly what to do. He knocked and when there was no response he took the key with the lightning keychain and unlocked it. There was no resistance, no alarm, no sound, nothing.

The studio was empty.


End file.
